Oh god, the gym-nurse-tics are the worst. poopiebaby is getting better about it, but only because I have spent months (years?) training him that it's just not going to fly. I have sensory and touch issues, and it was literally a matter of teaching him to stop, or quitting breastfeeding. The other-boob-tweaking was almost a dealbreaker for me.

Just wow to all this talk. I only nurse once a day so I thought that had something to do with the beatings I get from Giles. His "top" arm (we nurse cradle style) is constantly raking back and forth across my chest and then he periodically stops and punches the breast he is eating from (sometimes hard enough to dislodge himself and then he cries!) If I hold his hand he gets mad and stops nursing. I don't think I could handle nipple tweaking.

Glad I'm not the only one with touch issues. Freya is a big pincher (not super hard), scratcher, etc. She's been this way from birth! Other favorite moves:

pushing my belly fat upward until it pops back with a little bounce that surely is accompanied by a "spring" soundbiting my elbow if it's bent while resting during side nursingzerberting my boob or arm between gulpspulling a nipple while trying to roll from side to backpinching pinching pinching on my upper armpushing on my gut with her feet while staying latched so that her body is pushed away from minerunning fingernails all over lightly scratching me (urgh urgh urgh)pulling hair occasionallypulling my lower lip down

My most favorite, which she's done since at least 5 weeks old, is to put her teeny hand on top of mine and then try to get her fingers over the ends of mine so that my fingernail is being pulled backward. Um...no. She used to yell and swat at me even when I refused to go along with this game! Now, she still tries and I often (at least half the time) have to bend my fingers so she cant access my nails.

pb, I think my mom thought I was making up the fingernail thing (cuz she was like 6 weeks old when she was visiting). Glad to hear that Freya's not the only one who does this. It is seriously annoying! The scratching thing is icky too. She's much more mischievous when we're lying down. Crazy baby.

I'm just going to whine a minute. So on Saturday my hubby (omni) wanted to go out for Mexican food and I obliged him - I had a rather pitiful mexican salad with wilted iceberg lettuce, salsa and some fried onions and green peppers. Fast forward about 6 hours later HORRIBLE TERRIBLE stomach issues (you know sitting on the toilet clutching a trash can) and well, because I thought I was going to die over the next 12 hours I didn't pump. So Sunday and Monday I spent laying under a heating pad massaging my billions of plugged ducts. Pumping is going OK (kinda) today, but I am still SO SORE in the bosom area.

Really ,as if being hideously sick from a not very nice meal wasn't bad enough - now I have painful breasts that aren't producing nearly as much milk as usual.

Various things conspired recently to make me burn through my freezer stash, and now I am just barely keeping up. I sent M to school today with 4 four ounce bottles (he'll hopefully only drink 3) and he needs probably 2 more to get through the evening til I get home. I've pumped twice this morning and almost have the second bottle for tonight (assuming he doesn't drink all 4 at school). Then I need another 4 for school tomorrow, plus another 2 for the evening because a friend is watching him while I go to a concert. How the fork am I going to get six more bottles out in time? The ones for tomorrow evening, I will hopefully pump in the car while driving to the friend's house (about an hour and a half away).

Next semester M will be in daycare 3 days a week instead of 2, which will mean even more pumping.

Thanks guys. I found a 4 oz bag of milk in the freezer and pumped another 10 oz, so I'm covered for tonight at least and hopefully part of tomorrow's school day (please only drink 3 bottles there today kid!). I'm going to pump one more time before I head out to campus today and am coming home a little bit early (whenever I'm done my exam) so... hopefully we'll muddle through.

I don't understand how people who pump exclusively manage to do it because right now I hate that thing so forking much.

I'm hopeful for a change in his eating habits-- his interest in solid foods has declined dramatically since he first got into them around 6 months. The only thing he likes right now is dry cereal. He doesn't even like fruit. It's maddening.

I'm hopeful for a change in his eating habits-- his interest in solid foods has declined dramatically since he first got into them around 6 months. The only thing he likes right now is dry cereal. He doesn't even like fruit. It's maddening.

Uch, yes, what is wrong with these babies???

Hope your pumping picks up and you can work out a better situation next semester!

Does your care provider offer solids at all? Sounds like the easiest thing at that age would be to get more solids into M (and yet I know how easier said than done that is). I've been trying to shift V from nursing to more solid food and have had some success offering her solids before nursing when she's hungry. I know she's much older, but has had up and down periods of how much solid food she eats.

Does your care provider offer solids at all? Sounds like the easiest thing at that age would be to get more solids into M (and yet I know how easier said than done that is). I've been trying to shift V from nursing to more solid food and have had some success offering her solids before nursing when she's hungry. I know she's much older, but has had up and down periods of how much solid food she eats.

They do feed him solids (that I send), but it's the same thing there. Occasionally he'll have a day where he eats maybe half of what I send him with. But most days, he just refuses (whatever) and will only eat cereal. And you know, I wouldn't give a shiitake about the cereal if it seemed to be at all filling for him!

C&S- that is so hard. good luck. I just have to pump enough tonight so that I can go out to lunch tomorrow, and I am so tired from a weekend of socializing and demonstrating against nazis and a ravenous baby that it seems daunting. it's hard.

everyone- i would like to be able to smoke hash occasionally, but I haven't done any research *at all* on how long it remains in my body/is quantifiable in breast milk. does anyone have information?

C&S- that is so hard. good luck. I just have to pump enough tonight so that I can go out to lunch tomorrow, and I am so tired from a weekend of socializing and demonstrating against nazis and a ravenous baby that it seems daunting. it's hard.

everyone- i would like to be able to smoke hash occasionally, but I haven't done any research *at all* on how long it remains in my body/is quantifiable in breast milk. does anyone have information?

This is about marijuana in pregnancy but its about the effects of a child being exposed to it, which I guess is what you are concerned about, it being in your breastmilk etc etc. It's a tricky one because you can almost find whatever you want to hear on it... I have heard [and been angrily shown 'evidence' to back up] both sides of the argument of whether you should smoke it all whilst breastfeeding.

I smoked it heavily before I got pregnant and occasionally after giving birth [i've given it up now though, i am the WORST stoner in the world since having a child, i either just eat EVERYTHING or get really bad paranoia, ha!].

On a sad note, I think we have come to the end of our breastfeeding journey. Raphi hasn't had any "booby milk" for a week now and she has asked for it once [this morning, half in jest] but we were about to have breakfast so she didn't have any. I don't know whether to feel sad or slightly relieved [the looks I have had when my, very verbal!, two year old starts demanding "booby milk" in public are pretty hard to bear]. I think I just feel sad :(

I was out for 3 hours tonight, during which my husband fed M 14 oz (3.5 bottles worth) of milk. I had 5.5 bottles in the fridge. He needs 4 for school tomorrow. He nursed all day long and ate a ton of people food. How can he possibly have been so hungry? I have been working so hard to try to squeeze pumping in and was feeling so calm and relaxed and excited about being able to go out for a little bit and now I am so upset because how the shiitake am I supposed to make him two more bottles before 9 am tomorrow? Maybe if I pump now and get up early tomorrow morning too. fork, fork, fork.

I am so sorry CS! That is frustrating! It stinks but pumping in the morning will probably give you a big yield. Sending your superboobs milk makin' vibes!

I don't have a lot interesting to say. I am still nursing once either overnight or first in the AM and otherwise pumping 6x a day. When I realized I was going to just be pumping I changed my goal from BF for 1 year to pumping for 6 months. Giles is 5 months now but even though I really dislike pumping I am not sure I will be ready to quit at 6 months, but my husband is basically counting down the days because while I pump he is ending up with extra baby duty. So I feel bad for him (he stays home with him all day too). BUT he also is really considering going back to work at the end of January, so I really would hate to have just stopped providing the breastmilk in time for him to spend all day in germland. I'm not sure. I was kind of thinking that maybe at 6 months I will just cut back on the # of pumps and so still have some breastmilk and then supplement the shortfall - just not sure.

I totally sympathize, c&s. Sometimes I feel like when I'm gone, my partner feeds Scarlett more than she really needs because he's trying to come up with a way to comfort her and pass the time. She also nurses all night long and I just can't understand how she could need to eat so much the next morning when I had been feeding her at 3, 4, 5, and 6 am. It really seems like on the days I'm pumping, I need my supply to be larger than when I'm home with her. Maybe you could chug a few cups of supply-boosting tea tonight and hope you're overflowing by morning?

I am so sorry CS! That is frustrating! It stinks but pumping in the morning will probably give you a big yield. Sending your superboobs milk makin' vibes!

I don't have a lot interesting to say. I am still nursing once either overnight or first in the AM and otherwise pumping 6x a day. When I realized I was going to just be pumping I changed my goal from BF for 1 year to pumping for 6 months. Giles is 5 months now but even though I really dislike pumping I am not sure I will be ready to quit at 6 months, but my husband is basically counting down the days because while I pump he is ending up with extra baby duty. So I feel bad for him (he stays home with him all day too). BUT he also is really considering going back to work at the end of January, so I really would hate to have just stopped providing the breastmilk in time for him to spend all day in germland. I'm not sure. I was kind of thinking that maybe at 6 months I will just cut back on the # of pumps and so still have some breastmilk and then supplement the shortfall - just not sure.

Depending on solids, maybe you'll be able to cut back on pumping and still meet your goal. Whatever you decide, just remember it doesn't have to be all or nothing.... everything he gets from you is awesome!